Over the Edge
by Charlex
Summary: This is a collection of reflections on the characters of Final Fantsy VII as they face their breaking points. Will they stand alone and face the truth? Or will they finally break under the pressure?
1. Genesis: Truly Loveless

"_Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return…"_

Genesis Rhapsodos stared up into the clouded sky of a Midgar alleyway. The evening twilight was slowly receding and the chill of night was advent in the air. Genesis wrapped his arms tighter around himself and rested his chin on his knees. His clothes were tattered and faded and his hair was colorless, save for a few auburn strands. The once-proud SOLDIER, 1st Class looked _dead_. His body was fragile and worn, and every breath he took shuddered in his chest.

The degradation…That's what they called it. Something went wrong with the Mako infused into his very being. _"You'll be fine…"_ They told him. _"We'll keep you alive…" _They told him. But, that was just it. Genesis knew he was alive because of unnatural causes. He knew what those horrid scientists had done. He knew he should be dead. And, more than anything else, he knew what he was…

He was a monster…A science experiment gone wrong…And there to remind him of that every passing minute was the huge black wing protruding from his left shoulder. That one wing was the embodiment of his suffering. That one wing symbolized a lifetime of horrible mistakes…But wasn't that all he was? A mistake…They tried to hide it from him, but he had seen all the reports. Every one of them said the same thing. _SOLDIER 1__st__Class; Genesis Rhapsodos; Failed._

Who was he kidding? He wasn't a person to them. He was a _specimen_, and a failed specimen at that. He wasn't the hero in LOVELESS. He wasn't even human…How could a monster be a hero to anyone? How could they treat Sephiroth with so much respect, but still shun him to the slums? Wasn't Sephiroth a monster, too?

Ever since he was a boy, Genesis had dreamed of becoming a legendary hero. He had always wanted to be the one who was recognized for his great deeds and honored for his acts of chivalry. But, then he joined SOLDIER and his dreams were shot down.

He was told of his origins and what he really was. He was told of the failed experiments that created him. They offered to save his life, but could anyone really call this living? This slow, painful process of being drained of your very existence was living? Genesis didn't think so.

He would die, yes. That was evident, no matter how they tried to conceal it. But, before he faded into the Lifestream, Genesis would leave his mark in this world. Yes, Genesis would rewrite the lost act in LOVELESS and would use their blood for ink. Yes, Genesis Rhapsodos would die. But, when he did, he would take the world with him…


	2. Angeal: No More Honor

"_Angels dream of one thing…To be human!"_

Angeal Hewley looked himself over in the full-body mirror that adorned the right wall of his SOLDIER dorm room. His uniform was neat and clean, as usual; every little thing was perfectly in place. His black hair was washed and combed neatly, and his huge sword was polished and sharpened to a level of utmost perfection. But, no matter how nice and neat he was, Angeal couldn't be at ease with his appearance. Something was constantly bothering him…Taunting him…

The honorable SOLDIER let a tired sigh escape from his lips as his dark eyes fell on his right shoulder. His eyes weren't focused on his shoulder, though, but on the snowy white wing protruding out from it. He sighed again as he plucked a single soft feather from the unnatural extremity. Slowly letting it drift to the ground, Angeal realized just what the wing made him.

Angeal Hewley was a monster, and he knew it. That feathery _thing_ that had become a part of him had stripped him of his pride and honor. Angeal could no longer sense the light at the end of the tunnel. His hopes and dreams had become tarnished like an old, forgotten sword left to face so many rainy days and bitter nights.

Angeal valued pride, honor, and dreams above all things, but where was the honor in being a monster? Where was the pride in being a horrible experiment deformed from adverse side affects? No matter how hard he looked, Angeal could find only one thing to dream of: _Humanity_…

Angeal wanted to be human above all other things. He longed to be normal and live his life away from Shin-Ra. He wanted to be free of the Mako and Jenova cells. And, most of all, he wanted to be free from _himself_. He was a monster, and monsters never, ever had happy endings…Monsters never, ever had dreams, and monsters never, ever valued honor…

Angeal knew what he had to do. He had to be vanquished, like monsters always were. He had to abandon all hopes and dreams and face what he truly was. He knew how his life—his legacy—would end. Angeal Hewley would be no more…

So, Angeal drew his sword, and began to drown himself in a pool of lost hopes, dreams, courage, and honor…


	3. Sephiroth: Humanity Questioned

"_Am I even human?"_

Sephiroth looked at the horrid evidence laid out in front of him. Is this what he was? Was he just the same as these horrible _things_? He had never been told of his origins, and knew nothing of his mother but her name. _Jenova_…Was that monster and his so-called 'mother' the same person? Was he a monster, too?

He couldn't be! He just couldn't! He knew who he was! He was Sephiroth, SOLDIER General who feared nothing! He was a normal human with a normal past and a normal life! Wasn't he?

His parents wouldn't have lied to him, would they? He knew his father was Hojo and his mother Jenova. Hojo had told him that she died giving birth to her son. But, this thing was Jenova as well…Were they, in fact, the same person? Had Sephiroth never had the loving mother who hugged and kissed him in his dreams? Was he an experiment born from tests and trials? He couldn't be!

Reality began to swirl by in a rapid, indecipherable blur. Sephiroth just couldn't accept the fact that he was a monster. If he was, then why didn't people run? Why did they treat him with such respect? Did they fear him? Did they know all along and not tell him? How could they do this to him!?

Hard as he tried, Sephiroth just couldn't manage to keep his grip on sanity. He began to sense things he shouldn't sense and hear things he shouldn't hear. His vision blurred and blacked out randomly and his skull felt as though it would split down the middle at any given second.

For a while, Sephiroth just couldn't sense anything. He was floating in a void of nothingness, with no way out. He would have felt afraid, but it seemed as though what would have and should have been was irrelevant in his current state of being. He was lost, and no help was coming. With a wordless scream, Sephiroth sank down into the bowels of insanity…

When he 'awoke', he felt a new alien presence seemingly linked to his own. He knew, by some means, that this strange presence was Jenova. Jenova was his mother, and together, they would destroy the planet…Yes, they would take their revenge on all those horrible humans that had done this to him!


End file.
